Some think that the carving of the
creature on the left (below) that appears on a 1000 year old Cambodian
Buddhist temple
is aRhinoceros -- or aChameleon:
but certainly NOT what the French archeologist who first saw it thought that it
might represent: i.e. a Stegosaurus. Below we compare it to a drawing
of a Stegosaurus. Keep in mind that all reconstructions of
stegosauruses are just that: reconstructions, or best-guesses, based on
piecing together their skeletal structure -- as opposed to actual
observation or a photo of a live
specimen.

Its TailThe tail of the creature above is similar to that of the stegosaur
tail reconstruction in the drawing to the right. Its tail droops
down and away from its body, and appears to touch the
ground.Note that the end of its tail is horizontal
to the ground -- and it appears to go beyond the
drawing: meaning that its end is not depicted. This
would explain why there are no spikes depicted.

Its Tail
The tail of the stegosaur reconstruction above is similar to that of the
creature that is depicted to the left. Its tail droops
down and away from its body, and appears to touch the
ground. The end of its tail is also horizontal
to the ground.And even though its end is depicted, it
is positioned so that it goes beyond the circle.

Its Back plates
The creature above appears to have
large structures or plates on the top of
its back.
Its back also is rounded like a
ball.

Its
Back plates
The stegosaur reconstruction has
large structures or plates on the the top of
its back.Its back also is rounded like a
ball.

Its EyeThe eye of the creature above is near the middle of its head

Its
EyeThe eye is in the middle of its head.

Its Head
The head of the creature above appears larger than the head of the
stegosaur to the right: note that it also has ears: and
that the stegosaur reconstruction does not: simply because ears
are often made of tissues, and these -- even as skin tissues -- are
rarely preserved

Its
Head
The head of stegosaur reconstruction above is smaller than the head of
the creature to the left: however this could be the result of it's
"frill" (if it had one) and ears, etc. NOT being
preserved.

Its Ears
The creature above appears to have long pointed ears (?); however, it
may simply be a head-shield or frill.

Its
Ears The stegosaur reconstruction has no frill or shield around its head, and its ears are
not even depicted: because they were not preserved.

Its Legs
The creature above has a hind leg-joint that is straight. The bottom of
its hind legs are also not shown: suggesting that they are longer than
what is depicted: however they appear only a little longer than the
front legs.

Its
Legs The hind legs of the stegosaurus, while similar to those of the
creature to the left are about twice as large as its front legs.
Other
reconstructions are similar; however, some depict
slightly
less of a difference.

Its FeetThe creature above has feel that look similar to those of an
elephant.

Its
Feet
The feet in the reconstruction above appear to be somewhat similar to
those of an elephant. Other reconstructions appear even more
similar.